SZOMBATHELY, Hungary – Sam Brooks of Oak Park, Ill. won a bronze medal at 85 kg/187.25 lbs. on the opening day of the FILA Cadet World Championships on Tuesday. Brooks defeated Beka Rotchikashvili of Georgia in his bronze-medal bout, 0-1, 3-1, 2-1. Brooks won his first three matches, beating Aleksander Wojtachnio of Poland, Vasile Caras of Romania and Shavkatjon Odinayev of Uzbekistan. In the semifinals, he was defeated by eventual runner-up Aslan Bibulatov of Russia. “He wrestled great. He showed a lot of guts. He was tough all day and very tenacious. In the quarters, he had a tough match with Uzbekistan and won it at the end. He got stronger as the day went along. Sam showed a lot of heart,†said National Freestyle Developmental Coach Bill Zadick. Placing fifth after dropping their bronze-medal bouts were Dalton Brady of Queen Creek, Ariz. at 50 kg/110.25 lbs. and Oliver Pierce of Allen, Texas at 69 kg/152 lbs. Brady won his first three matches, stopping Zhakhongir Akilov of Ukraine, Tomasz Ogonowski of Poland and Kuat Amirtayev of Kazakhstan. Brady lost to eventual champion Gazhimurad Rashidov of Russia in the semifinals. He was defeated in the bronze-medal bout by Teja Devi Singh Thakur of India, 0-3, 0-3. Pierce opened with a win over Ganbold Turbold of Mongolia, then lost to eventual champion Magomedgadzhi Imanshapiev of Russia. He qualified for the bronze-medal match after defeating Nicholas Watkins of Canada in the repechage rounds. He lost to Azamai Dauletbekov of Kazakhstan, 0-1, 0-1 in the bronze-medal match. Two U.S. wrestlers placed seventh after they fell one match short of the bronze-medal round in the repechage: Gannon Volk of Burnsville, Minn. at 42 kg/92.5 lbs. and Zane Richards of Carbondale, Ill. at 58 kg/127.75 lbs. After the first day of competition, the United States stands in fifth place with 28 points. Russia leads with 48 points followed by India with 41, Azerbaijan with 31 and Iran with 30. “We had some disappointments. As well as they did as a team, they are all winners and all competitive. I don’t want to sell them short on their goals and expectations. They are all talented and worked hard, and it is hard to see them fall short of their goals. Besides Sam, two others wrestled for a medal and two others were nip-and-tuck to get to the medals. As a team, we have to be smarter about how we wrestle. They are tough, talented and passionate wrestlers, and it is great to work with them all,†said Zadick. Five other U.S. freestyle wrestlers weighed in and received draws for Wednesday competition. The pairings will be posted in another story. Serving as coach of the team is 1976 Olympic champion and 1972 Olympic silver medalist John Peterson of Comstock, Wis., along with National Freestyle Developmental Coach Bill Zadick of Colorado Springs, Colo. This will be the first time that FILA will have hosted a Cadet World Championships since 1999. Fans can follow the event on FILA’s official website at http://www.fila-wrestling.com/szombathely2011/ FILA CADET WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS At Szombathely, Hungary, August 23 42 kg/92.5 lbs. 1 Zavur Uguev (Russia) 2 Azamat Toibek (Kazakhstan) 3 Ram Kanwar Mangal Kadiyan (India) 3 Mihai Cazac (Moldova) 5 Dmytro Nesvyatypaska (Ukraine) 5 Vurghun Aliyev (Azerbaijan) 7 Gannon Volk (USA) 8 Saber Khanjani Shahrestani (Iran) 9 Khuyagtbaatar Khishigbat (Mongolia) 10 Yudai Fujita (Japan) 50 kg/110 lbs. 1 Gadzhimurad Rashidov (Russia) 2 Hassan Yazdanicharati (Iran) 3 Rinya Nakamura (Japan) 3 Teja Devi Singh Thakur (India) 5 Narek Babayan (Armenia) 5 Dalton Brady (USA) 7 Kuat Amirtayev (Kazakhstan) 8 Mirjalal Hasan Zada (Azerbaijan) 9 Veli Susuri (Kosovo) 10 Tomasz Ogonowski (Poland) 58 kg/127.75 lbs. 1 Prahlad Singh Ashish (India) 2 Guseyn Shakhbanov (Russia) 3 Peyman Yarahmadi (Iran) 3 Elchin Mammadov (Azerbaijan) 5 Kyrillos Binenmpaoum (Greece) 5 Raupi Shakulogli (Georgia) 7 Zane Richards (USA) 8 Katsuhiro Kawase (Japan) 9 Sherzodbek Yusupov (Uzbekistan) 10 Emrach Gasanov (Israel) 69 kg/152 lbs. 1 Magomedgadzhi Imanshapiev (Russia) 2 Azad Singh Dinesh Kumar (India) 3 Azamai Dauletbekov (Kazakhstan) 3 Rustam Dzhafaryan (Ukraine) 5 Oliver Pierce (USA) 5 Elmar Ismayilov (Azerbaijan) 7 Shalva Tchadashvili (Georgia) 8 Ismail Engin (Bulgaria) 9 Azoril Osovschi (Moldova) 10 Paulius Zaicev (Lithuania) 85 kg/187.5 lbs. 1 Hatam Aliakbarzadeh (Iran) 2 Aslan Bibulatov (Russia) 3 Parviz Akhundov 3 Sam Brooks (USA) 5 Jal Karan Pawan Dahiya (India) 5 Beka Rotchikashvili (Georgia) 7 Bohdan Hrytsay 8 Shavkatjon Odinayev (Uzbekistan) 9 Vasile Caras 10 Stefan Krastev Tsankov (Bulgaria) U.S. men’s performances on Tuesday 42 kg/92.5 lbs. - Gannon Volk, Burnsville, Minn., 7th WIN Sardan Sylva (Kosovo), 1-0, 0-1, 6-2 LOSS Azamat Toibek (Kazakhstan), 0-2, 0-6 LOSS Dmytro Nesvyatpaska (Ukraine), 2-4, 2-3 50 kg/110.25 lbs. - Dalton Brady, Queen Creek, Ariz., 5th WIN Zhakhongir Akilov (Ukraine), 1-0, 3-0 WIN Tomasz Ogonowski (Poland), 2-0, 2-0 WIN Kuat Amirtayev (Kazakhstan), 4-0, 3-0 LOSS Gazhimurad Rashidov (Russia), 0-5, 0-1 LOSS Teja Devi Singh Thakur (India), 0-3, 0-3 58 kg/127.75 lbs. - Zane Richards, Carbondale, Ill., 7th WIN Mehdi Ait Amrane (Algeria), 7-0, 8-2 LOSS Prahlad Sing Ashish (India), 2-1, 1-2, 0-2 WIN Madyar Burkhan (Kazakhstan), 1-0, 2-1 LOSS Elchin Mammadov (Azerbaijan), 1-0, 1-2, 2-3 69 kg/152 lbs. - Oliver Pierce, Allen, Texas, 5th WIN Ganbold Turbold (Mongolia), 5-1, 3-1 LOSS Magomedgadzhi Imanshapiev (Russia), 0-6, 0-6 WIN Nicholas Watkins (Canada), 2-1, 3-1 LOSS Azamai Dauletbekov (Kazakhstan), 0-1, 0-1 85 kg/187.25 lbs. - Sam Brooks, Oak Park, Ill., 3rd WIN Aleksander Wojtachnio (Poland), pin WIN Vasile Caras (Romania), 5-3, 6-0 WIN Shavkatjon Odinayev (Uzbekistan), 0-4, 1-1, 2-0 LOSS Aslan Bibulatov (Russia), 0-6, 2-6 WIN Beka Rotchikashvili (Georgia), 0-1, 3-1, 2-1